


Disorder and Disillusion

by AddedOC



Category: Dungeons and Dragons - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Dungeons and Dragons, Mystery, Other, World Hopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 01:38:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13330743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AddedOC/pseuds/AddedOC
Summary: Ashley Brown loves anything to do with a fantasy setting. She spends her weekends either playing Dungeons and Dragons with her friends and younger sister, or playing a multitude of rpgs that hold her attention for hours. A chance encounter with an old man outside a cafe will foreshadow her life being turned upside down as she is sent to a place that is not apart of her world. This world of her dreams full of fantasy and mystery will prove to be much more that she can take. Will she be able to make it through the good, the bad, and the hilarious in order to find her way back home, or will she settle into this world and live out her wildest fantasy with a cast of characters that join her in her journey.And will you find yourself sucked in to the wonders of Disorder and Disillusion. The journey awaits, all you have to do is begin.





	Disorder and Disillusion

**Chapter 1: In which Ashley breaks something important**

  
  


 The ogre was massive, wielding two large battle axes and sneering at our group before it with its one good eye as it stood inside the dungeons largest room. Behind it rested the chest holding the orb of Avait, an ancient relic that was needed by the king to protect the lands of Omicronia. I prepared my longbow as I shot our paladin a warning look. He was always so quick to jump into battle and my cash of potions was running low. Kiera, our healer and the only human in our group was out cold in the corner, still suffering from the hoards of monsters we fought on our way to the antichamber. Our large goliath brute stood by my side, bashing his large ironclad knuckles together as he sneered right back at the Ogre.

 I was the first to attack, for once, lighting my arrow aflame I sent it flying right at the ogres good eye only for it to arc and impale itself into the monsters chest. It cried out in anger before charging at Bryan who was all too willing to parry his blows. For a paladin, Bryan was really too ready to inflict harm. He swung his sword out intending to strike the beast in the belly and cleave it in half, only for his blade to bounce off of it with a mighty clang. Terrance the goliath jumped into the fray swinging his fists wildly and struck the ogre over and over in the chest and face, he was still enraged from our last encounter and used it to the groups advantage. I sidestep to get far enough away so I could aim my next shot properly and-

 

 “Make a dexterity saving throw Ashley.”

 “Oh come on!” I slammed my hand down on the table angrily as I glared at Emily, the strictest dungeon master I have ever met and my personal best friend.

 “You’re within two squares of the ogre at this point, he could easily sideswipe you.” She sighed as she explained the obvious game mechanic to me. It did nothing to quell my anger though, I grumbled even as I rolled my dark blue and red speckled D-20 as instructed. We watched with bated breath as it rolled towards Bryan and came to a stop with a bright yellow 18 facing upwards. I exclaimed loudly with illegible words as a rush of happiness washed through me. Emily shot me an angry glare as she shook her own die in her hand I slowly returned to my seat as my eyes grew wide and locked onto her hand. She released her die behind the cardboard barrier between us and her eyes flicked down to study the number it showed her.

 “Well?” Terrance leaned forward as he questioned her, his eyes were as big as my own at this point. She looked at each of us in turn before letting out a long drawn out sigh and shaking her head slowly.

 “The ogre lashes out at the movement he sees from the corner of his eye, missing your elven frame by a hair and turning himself around in a full circle as you move to a more strategic location.”she stated just as slowly as she had sighed. I smiled and crossed my arms as my mind filled with all the cocky things I could tell her at the moment, but she was spending the night with me and I had plenty of time to make her feel foolish for testing me.

 “I notch another arrow and aim at the ogres eye once again.” I stated as I shook the D-20 in my hand once again. All eyes were on it as I loosed it to roll across the table. A deep red 1 looked back at us from the top. “Fuck!” the word was out of my mouth before I could think and that evil smile was back on Emily’s lips.

 “You go to shoot at the ogre but, when you pull back your bows string your fingers go slack and the arrow clatters to the floor.” She informed me happily.

 “Dammit Ashley, again?” Bryan asked as he turned to shoot me an angry glare.

 “It’s the die, all my critical hits are used up I swear, all I seem to have left is critical fails.” I grumbled just as angrily as I snatched my die from the center of the playing field.

 “Whenever you get into drinking games you always roll twenties.”Terrance stated in his goliath voice before chuckling and adding in his normal tones, “by the way, Kiera should do her check again right?” He asked Emily this, who widened her eyes in surprise at his question, she had been so into the battle that my little sister was all but forgotten.

 “Right” she turned to the small blonde sitting to my right, “Kiera, you need to roll a D-20 and add your constitution modifier to see if the poison has worn off yet.”

 “Okay…” We all watched in silence as she studied the pages before her, then as she rolled her own bright pink die. A black 12 was what was shown on the top when it finally came to a stop. “Sixteen.” she mumbled as she studied her papers once again.

 “Okay, you’re awake now, but you are still in so much pain that you can’t possibly move your body.” Emily replied with a sorrowful shrug.

 “Can I do lay hands and heal her for ten hp?” Bryan asked after taking a long sip from his can of sprite.

 “Not while you’re in battle with a huge ass ogre.” I snapped before rolling my eyes, “look, I say we focus on killing this thing first and if the poison kills her we can take her back to the capital in the bag of holding and get one of the priests to revive her. The journey will only take what, two days, and the priests can revive someone who’s been dead for seven. I say we kill this thing, get the thing, get paid, and then worry about her.”

 “Gee, thanks sis.” Kiera grumbled as she crossed her arms and scooted down in her chair, “See if I heal you next time we are face to face with a dragon.”

 “Is that in character Ashley?” Emily asked. Anger flared up in me as my eyes darted to the dunce hat in the corner, the hat that we had crudely sketched large letters making up the word META on it. I knew what she was hinting at and she did as well, still it did make me angry to think she would make me wear it.

 “It would be really odd for our ranger to go on a tirade like that in the middle of the battle.” Terrance stated with a shrug.

 “Shut up Terrance.” I grumbled. My glare had settled on Emily’s face as I spoke.

 “You will have to wear it for ten minutes next time.” Emily said as she studied the screen of her phone, “We have like, two minutes until Bryan has to go home so, you start next time,” she pointed at Bryan as she spoke, “and then Terrance and so on.”

 “It’s been four hours already?” I asked, slightly surprised by how fast the game had gone this time.

 “Yup.” she popped the p at the end of the word as she began to gather up everything she had brought with her for the game. Kiera followed suit along with the boys until I was the only one who still had their supplies spread across the poster board that Terrance had sketched out a careful grid onto before covering it with a layer of thin plastic to make it into a rough dry-erase board.

 I let out an annoyed sigh through my nose as I stood and began collecting my things, scooping my dice and miniatures into my velvet sack that was always by my side on campaign nights. The miniature of my ranger character missed the lip of my bag and tumbled to the floor, landing on the tip of the bow that she held up proudly and shattering against the hardwood floor.

 “Dammit.” I hissed as I looked over the shattered glass. That miniature was expensive and my favorite. I frowned as my mind went immediately to how much of my hard earned money would have to go in to finding and purchasing a new one. My eyes met Bryans as I looked up from the destruction at my feet and I could see that, even though he was mad at my failing the last roll, he was sad for me losing my favorite piece as well.

 “Hey Ash do you-“ He began as he noticed my eyes on him.

 “I’m fine,” I snapped before taking in a deep breath and running my fingers through my bangs in frustration, “I will clean it up. It’s fine. I’m fine.” The group was looking at me with wide and worry filled eyes then. I knew that they were worried I would break down from just the sight of the shattered piece at my feet. The miniature was my favorite piece, I had based my entire character around it from race to class to physical appearance. It was an old piece I found at the game shop we use to play in the back room of. It was a piece I had for well over three years and one that I was very connected to.

 Kiera was by my side then, holding out a hand broom and small dustpan, she offered them to me without a word and I accepted them in the same manner. The clicking of glass was all that could be heard as I swept my precious miniature up and into the dustpan. The others seemed to be holding their breath as I moved across the room to tilt the pieces into the trash can by our basement door. Even Emily, who usually could match me point for point with snarky remarks, remained quiet as the grave as I stared down at the light reflecting off of the jagged pieces of what use to be my dungeons and dragons character.

 “Well,” I stated after blinking away the tears that pricked my eyes, “no use pouting over something you can’t fix right?” I turned to give the others a small smile and quick shrug as I spoke and broke the spell of silence that had fallen over the room. We exchanged our goodbyes with the boys and made plans to meet up again the next week before retiring for the night to my room. By the time my head hit the pillows on my bed I was just so exhausted from the long game and emotional trauma that followed. My eyes shut immediately and I found myself in a restless slumber. If I had a dream I couldn’t remember it, all that was in my mind during that night was cold unfeeling darkness.

 

* * *

  


 “Yeah mom, I’ll pick up Kiera after I’m done in here.” I sighed into my phone as I stood outside of the large darkly decorated game shop at the edge of the strip mall. Kiera was in dance class which gave me another hour or so to look for a replacement miniature before I had to leave the store. My mother however, was not very pleased that I had decided to skip out on watching my younger sister in baby pink tights in order to look for a game piece.

 “If you aren’t there to pick her up I will lock you out of the house Ashley, don’t test me.” My mother's very annoyed voice echoed in my ear.

 “Don’t worry, I am literally three buildings away from her. I will be there before it’s over I promise.” My groan around my words caused her to reply with one of her own.

“I am warning you, get her home or it’s your ass.” I rolled my eyes at this warning. She was sixteen, I was eighteen, we could practically raise ourselves at this point yet my mother's insistence on treating her like a four year old still persisted.

 “Yes ma’am.” I sighed before quickly hanging up my phone. It was truly annoying being the oldest sibling sometimes. You were almost required to grow up faster than the others when your parents insisted on treating them as if they were still babies, even if they couldn’t possibly be considered anything of the like anymore.

 I was still grumbling to myself even as I strode into the store. The familiar scent of old paper and metal mingled in my nostrils as I headed back to the tabletop section, eyeing the shiny new display of the latest rpg as I did so. If only I lived in a world like that I could haggle with the shopkeep and walk away with everything I wanted. I shook my head and chuckled to myself as I thought of how cool it would be to actually live in a world like the one Emily invented for our D&D campaign. It would be more interesting by far than my own world was.

 My eyes drifted over the shelves containing rulebooks and strategy guides. Over to the ones that housed a multitude of different colored dice and small figurines used for the multiple tabletop games that the store offered. I inhaled deeply and took in the unique scent the store held once again, it was something that always filled me with warmth and a giddy bubbly feeling that would start from the pit of my stomach. I loved this place more than I did my own home, and would probably still be utilizing its back room for our sessions if Emily hadn’t cut ties with the owner’s son after three years of dating. I couldn’t blame her for dumping him, they fought constantly and only seemed to have those sessions in common towards the end, but I still felt a pang of sadness at losing the best rogue gnome I had ever played with due to their breakup.

 “Ashley, hey.”

_Speak of the devil…_ I thought as I turned to face David. He was slightly taller than me with thick wavy blonde curls that hung about his head in a shaggy style and an easy smile that I hadn’t seen on his face in a long while. I waved back to him as I turned my attention on the shelves before me once again, chicks over dicks I always say… though David was never much of a dick in the first place.

 “Looking for something specific?” He asked as he came to a stop beside me. Oh poor silly David didn’t realize I had an oath to keep to Emily, I was required to hate him now that they were ex’s.

 “Just looking.” I nearly growled the words, but of course he wasn’t affected by my mood in the slightest.

 “I see you got the critical hit hoodie now, man I searched everywhere for one but I can’t even get one online.” He continued as if we were actually friendly. I glanced down at the forest green pullover that was draped over my upper body before giving him a shrug, feeling the embroidered D-20 on my back shift up and then down as I did so.

 “I won it.” My reply was both short and snide as I turned my gaze on the shelves once again, none of the figures before me seemed right, causing my mood to darken all the more due to this fact. There was one that had the right bow but it was a tiefling, one had the right armor but was a human, one was elven but was obviously a cleric. Looking over them made me miss my dear figure more than ever before.

 “That’s so cool, was it the radio contest because I listened to that and I guess I missed your submission.” He shrugged and watched me as I lifted up a miniature of a Goliath and studied its unpainted face.

 “Look dude no offense but I don’t have a lot of time to spare.” I grunted as I returned the figure to its resting place, “plus Emily is still my friend and you are still just the ex.” I added, more to myself than to him as I moved further down the aisle.

 “What, so I can't be your friend because you’re her friend?” He asked, a bit miffed about my response and not at all attempting to hide that fact. I gave him an annoyed glare before moving down even more. There was an interesting elemental miniature that caught my eye as I did this and I paused for only a second to study it further, and that’s all he needed to be right back at my side once again. His eyes were narrowing as he added onto his thought, “why does it have to be like that huh? So what if we didn’t work out right? That shouldn’t stop you and I from being friends. Unless, of course, you’re worried that the two of us would start dating or something and cause problems for Emily.” He was staring intensely at me by this point and I was feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second.

 “Maybe I don’t wanna be your friend because I think you’re a pushy dick who can’t tell when someone is actually busy and just go around creating awkward situations for people who clearly are just trying to buy a damn replacement piece!” I snapped at him as I turned my own narrowed eye stare in his direction, “you know I didn’t ask for you to walk up to me and strike up a conversation, I just walked back her to study what your dad is selling not to talk to you. So go away, go build a wall and get over yourself.” My right eye was beginning to hurt, the tell tale sign of a headache that this boy was giving me slowly building to a crescendo.

 “Since when did you become a stubborn bitch?” He asked as he crossed his arms before himself and narrowed his eyes at me. That's it, I was done with this imbecile. I turned sharply and made my way around the other isles leading up to the front door with a determined gleam in my eye. The Attic game shop had just lost my patronage until he left for college in the fall, and perhaps even after that. I wasn’t going to allow myself to be caught up in a conversation like that again with the prick. He thought that I would ignore my best friends feelings just to hang out with him, I knew that he could be self centered sometimes but if he honestly thought that I would ignore my best friend for him he had another thing coming.

 The warm air outside the shop hit my face as I flung the large glass door open in anger. My body turned first towards Kiera’s dance studio then towards the small cafe across the way from where I currently was. I needed something to take my mind off my latest fail of an encounter and a nice hot cup of espresso was calling my name. With a glance at my phone to make sure I still had time, I made my way across the street towards the small tan and brown building that smelled of coffee beans and pastries. I was almost to the shops front door when a strange old man in a deep burgundy cloak stumbled into my path causing me to come to a full stop in order to avoid knocking his frail form over.

 “Excuse me sir.” I mumbled as I held my hands out, intending to catch him if he took a fall. It seemed entirely possible what with how he teetered from side to side even just standing still. He looked like he had just come from a convention, dressed in soft leathers and that odd cloak. It was like he stepped right out of a medieval rpg and into my way. His voice was gravely but his words flowed like French or another language that I could not understand. His knobby finger pointed at me as he continued to speak, almost sounding like he was singing a song to me. The words seemed to echo in my mind as he spoke, causing me to have an odd drifting feeling wash over me as I attempted to hold on to what was going on before me.

 “I- I don’t understand..” I stuttered out quickly in hopes of making the possibly crazy person stop his mad rantings. My eyes darted around to the faces of the people who had stopped to watch our strange conversation and as I took in their entertained or confused looks I could feel my cheeks heat up with an embarrassed blush. He was still talking. I wondered how long he could continue before having to stop for a breath.The thought was in my mind for only a moment before transitioning to thoughts of my remaining time before I had to get my sister, and thoughts of how many people were looking at me interacting with this most certainly delusionally insane old man.

 “I’m sorry. I- I don’t know what you want.” I smiled apologetically to the man as I attempted to slip past him instead of remaining for the rest of his rant. One bony gnarled hand that seemed to be more of a claw than anything shot out from under his cloak and wrapped itself around my upper arm. I stopped in my tracks and looked at him with wide eyes that I was sure held waves of fear within their depths. He was still talking in that strange rhythmic language that I could not understand, his bloodshot yellowed eyes locked on to my face the entire time. I attempted to pull away from him only for him to yank me closer with strength that he couldn’t possibly possess. His voice dropped into a low whisper as my face came within inches of his own. Finally he ceased his rant and released me from his grip. I stumbled back from him, rubbing my sore bicep as the man seemed to nod in my direction before turning and walking back the way he had came.

 I glanced around myself nervously to make sure that no one I knew had seen the man and I speaking before making my way to the cafe, shuffling along as I did so. My body felt heavy, like he had placed a ton of bricks on my shoulders instead of nearly shouting illegible words at me. It was an odd feeling for me, each step seemed to be harder to complete than the last. The people inside the cafe gave me sidelong glances as I shuffled past them on my way to the counter. The barista was busy talking to her manager and took no notice of me until I stumbled and practically fell against the oak top of the bar separating us.

 “Hey, you okay?” she asked as she tilted her head to show her slight confusion at my appearance. I nodded quickly before pulling myself into an upright position, hoping that I could seem somewhat sane after my odd entrance.

 “I just want an espresso, to go please.” I replied after coughing into my fist to clear my throat.

 “Size?”

 “Uh, venti.” I watched her make my drink as my mind wondered back to the strange old man. He seemed to be trying to tell me something or maybe he really was singing me a strange foreign song, either way the very thought of him caused a cold shiver to run down my spine. I accepted my drink and passed her a ten dollar bill in return, taking a tentative sip from my cup as I awaited my change. The hot liquid burned down my throat and settled in the pit of my stomach, but the warmth of the drink seemed to relieve some of the heavy tension that had managed to build on my shoulder blades.

 My phone chimed to warn me that I only had a few minutes before I needed to be at Kiera’s dance class. I grumbled to myself as I collected my change and made my way out of the store and down the sidewalk towards the dance studio she was trained in. My drink was finished before I made it to the crosswalk and I tossed the empty styrofoam cup into an outside trash bin nearby before pressing the button to cross. The old man had to have been talking to me for far longer than I thought he was, twenty minutes flew by faster than I thought and I ended up almost being late in picking up my little sister.

 

* * *

 

 

That night I spent most of my remaining free time in my room. I was just so tired from the moment we walked in the front door and only really wanted to lay on my bed in silence rather than interact with my family. My lights were off in my room which allowed me to watch the late day sunlight sink into dusk and then darkness on my ceiling. My eyelids were growing heavy by the time the sounds of the city at night reached my ears, they drooped down no matter how hard I attempted to keep them open and before I knew it, I was asleep.

 My dreams consisted of strange swirling shapes that I couldn’t quite make out. It was a transfixing, nearly hypnotic sight that left me feeling as if I was floating through the very air. The shapes became mixed in a jumble of colors that bled into blackness as my weightlessness drifted away I came back into consciousness to the sounds of bird calls above my head and the feeling of wet dew covered grass below my body. My eyes shot open quickly as my thoughts turned to why I was experiencing this sort of sensory delusion, only to yield me a sight of thick waves of bright green grass working their way through a field that was dotted with clumps of trees. Off in the distance was what seemed to be two people urging a small mass of clouds across one of the far fields. It took me a moment to realize that the clouds were in fact a herd of fat bleating sheep.

 I shot upwards into a sitting position and whipped my head from side to side to take in more of my surroundings. A small cave like crater was in a large boulder behind me and other than that it was simply a field of green and brown broken only by the bright blue morning sky. What I did not see was my bed, or my room, or anything I recognized at all as belonging to the city that I lived in. My heart raced as panic set in and I scrambled quickly to my feet to get off the ground that had left quite a few wet spots in my clothes.

 “Where the fuck am I?” My own voice echoed in my ears as I called out the question to the winds.


End file.
